ALL THINGS CYBER
to other organizations, including Program Executive Office/project management and science and technology organizations. “Tis has enabled me to gain valuable perspectives on the acquisition life cycle and recognize the criticality of all organi- zations in getting systems to the warfighter. I highly recommend others pursue similar rotations to better understand the acqui- sition life cycle and determine where they best see their skillsets thriving.”
His advice for junior acquisition personnel typically revolves around being comfort- able with “not immediately having the answers.”
ENGINEER OF THE YEAR Smith, middle, receiving the 2019 Project Manager Combat Ammunition Systems (PM CAS) “Outstanding Engineer of the Year” award at the PM CAS All Hands Meeting held at the Picatinny Arsenal Lindner Conference Center in December 2019. From left is Pete Burke, PM CAS; Greg Bischer, Precision Fires and Mortars (PdM PFM); Smith, PdM PFM; Lt. Col. Patrick Farrell, PdM PFM; and Col. Will McDonough, PM CAS. (Photo courtesy of Dan Smith)
Smith was hired directly out of college into the U.S. Combat Capabilities Devel- opment Command Armaments Center, focusing on guidance, navigation and control. “I was always fascinated by radio frequency navigation, and working in that group exposed me to the devel- opment and test of Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers for munitions,” he said. Ten, he got the opportunity to join the Precision Guidance Kit team as the U.S. Government GPS Responsible Engineering Authority and technically guide a joint contractor and government team to determine root cause identifica- tion and corrective action validation for several GPS-related failures. He was also able to experience much of the develop- ment and fielding of this item, as well as
various product improvement initiatives increasing PNT resilience, such as anti- jam and anti-spoof improvements.
“Tat experience really fortified my inter- est in PNT and pointed out how reliant we have become on GPS as our primary and, often, sole source of PNT,” he said. “I was then able to join the Joint Program Executive Office [for] Armaments and Ammunition Directorate of Integration, Assured Precision Weapons and Muni- tion team, where we focus on ‘pulling’ and integrating cutting-edge PNT technology forward into programs of record to diver- sify and harden PNT capabilities.”
Smith said most of his career development occurred through matrixed assignments
“Since they have spent roughly the last 20 years operating in the school mindset of ‘If you don’t immediately know the answer you fail,’ junior personnel can often get discouraged and feel overwhelmed,” he said. “I try to offer encouragement by reinforcing that engineers are in place to develop answers, construct solutions and fill knowledge gaps with their critical thinking skills.”
Outside of work, Smith enjoys playing multiple instruments (trumpet, guitar and bass) and has been in a variety of bands over the years, ranging from high school and college concert bands to open mic events, graduation parties and small community festivals. Now, though, he plays just for fun. “Like work,” he said, “bands consist of team members with different roles and the communication among members is crucial to overall group success.”
—CHERYL MARINO
https://asc.ar my.mil
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